


Hell's Studio Exposed!

by Supersinger9000



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, Hell's Studio AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:41:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supersinger9000/pseuds/Supersinger9000
Summary: When Bendy's disguise falls off at a public event, people quickly start to figure out that there are living cartoons at Joey Drew Studios. Now Bendy and co. have to figure out how to respond.
Relationships: None
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Hell's Studio Drabbles](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16857886) by [phantomthief_fee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee). 



> What's this? Me, writing a fanfiction for a fandom other than tawog? Yes, it's true. I've gotten really into batim lately. What can I say? I guess I just gravitate towards stories with living cartoons. This idea came to me after reading @phantomtheif_fee's Hell's Studio Drabbles and there was a story in there about Bendy's disguise falling off at a toy drive. I thought it would be fun to explore the aftermath of that, as living cartoon characters being confirmed to exist is bound to be a big deal. Hope you enjoy!

Bendy was sitting in his office, trying to stay away from any windows. Ever since his disguise had fallen off at a public event the outside of the studio was swarmed with people trying to get a look at him. He knew he couldn’t avoid them forever, he had to deal with it at some point and these people didn’t look like they were going to give up anytime soon. He was just trying to delay the inevitable until he could come up with some sort of plan. God, people were going to be so mad, the company’s stock would plummet. If they went bankrupt, he would lose the only home he’s ever had. God damn it, this was all Joey’s fault! It was his idea to summon cartoon characters with black magic! He couldn’t help his own existence! But he knew that people wouldn’t see it that way. They’d all freak out at the sight of him, just like the studio workers did when he was first created. But the studio workers eventually got used to him, he wasn’t sure if the general public ever would. He was lost in thought until he heard a knock on his door. The door opened to reveal Joey and Henry with concerned looks on their faces. 

“Hey boss, how are you holding up?” Henry asked. 

“Oh, fine. Just peachy.” Bendy said in a deadpan tone. Joey and Henry gave each other a look and went to go sit next to Bendy. 

“Hey, maybe this isn’t so bad.” Joey said, trying to cheer him up. “At least it’s got people talking about the studio. All publicity is good publicity, right?”

“Yeah, maybe for you.” Bendy responded. “You’re not the one who’s going to be chased into the nearest church with torches and pitchforks.” 

“We won’t let that happen.” Henry said, putting his hand on his shoulder. “We’ll increase security around here, make sure that nobody is able to hurt you.” Despite everything, Bendy smiled a bit. He knew that Henry felt a little protective of him, of most people in the studio really since he’s one of the oldest there, but especially towards him and the other toons since he helped create them. Sometimes it felt patronizing, he was a grown man after all, while other times, like now, it was more appreciated.

“Thanks Hen, but I don’t know how much good it’ll do. The people are already going nuts.” Bendy said, pointing at the window to illustrate his point. “Besides, no amount of security can quell the rumors going around.” Joey and Henry both gave each other a look at this. 

“Well, we were actually hoping to talk to you about that.” Henry said. “You know that we’re going to have to address this at some point.” Bendy nodded, he did know that. “So we were thinking that we could have a press conference explaining the situation and answering questions that people may have. And we want you to be a part of it.” 

“Me? Really? Are you sure that’s a good idea? Wouldn’t that just add fuel to the fire?” Bendy asked. If they showed him to the public it would confirm that the cartoons were real, and having confirmation of that instead of just rumors could make this thing so much worse. 

“Maybe” Henry admitted. “But these rumors are getting a little out of hand, the last one I heard was that Joey was sacrificing employees to a crazy ink demon.” Bendy couldn’t help himself and let out a laugh at that one. It was hard for him to imagine Joey, with his spectacles and grandpa sweaters, sacrificing anyone. He gave off such an innocent vibe, despite his obsession with the occult. 

“I know, it’s ridiculous, but this is why we want you to make an appearance. You can explain your side of the story and show people that you’re not dangerous, except maybe to animators who are behind on their deadlines.” Henry joked. Bendy mulled the idea over in his head. Did he really want to do this? Did he really want to go public? Well, it was kind of too little too late now. In essence, he already  _ was _ public. He’d been seen. He couldn’t go back to the way things were before, no matter how much he wanted to. So why not make an appearance? Maybe if he explained himself he could change some people’s minds?  _ Or you could be murdered on the spot,  _ a voice in Bendy’s head chimed in.  _ They’ll hate you and everything having to do with you, including the studio. Either that or they’ll fear you. They’ll take you apart to see how your body works.  _ Bendy shook his head to clear those thoughts. He’ll have Joey and Henry there with him, and like Henry said, they won’t let anything happen to him. And, well, he couldn’t stay hiding down here forever. Now that people were looking for him, eventually he was gonna get caught. At least this way it’ll be in a more controlled setting, and he’ll have some friends around for backup. 

The toon gave a deep sigh and said. “Alright, I’ll do it.” 


	2. The Press Conference

Bendy peeked from behind the curtain and gulped nervously. There sure were a lot of people here. He could even see a few TV cameras. He was sure that this story would be on every news station and every newspaper in the country after this. Yes, he had agreed to introduce himself to the world on his terms instead of letting the rumors grow to a dangerous degree, but he was still nervous about it. What would it be like having everyone in the country know about his existence?  _ “OK Bendy, calm down.” _ He told himself.  _ “You can handle this. You were made to entertain after all.”  _ Of course, this wasn’t exactly  _ entertainment _ , this was more like damage control, and he was way better at causing trouble than he was at fixing it. Still, it was all going to be fine. He had to believe that, otherwise he would be a stressed out puddle on the floor. He was already starting to melt. He closed the curtains before anyone could see him, they were keeping his involvement on the speakers panel a secret until the big reveal. That was Joey’s idea, ever the showman. Bendy noticed two dark shadows in front of the curtain, Joey and Henry. They must be starting soon. Alright, this was it, now or never. Joey tapped the mic in order to make sure it was on, then he began speaking. 

“Hello and welcome! I would like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. I’m Joey Drew, head and founder of Joey Drew Studios. To my right is Henry Stein, my business partner and co-founder of the studio. Now, we called this press conference in order to address some accusations of there being living cartoon characters in the studio.” Some of the more skeptical reporters rolled their eyes. They couldn’t believe that the studio heads were actually dignifying this with a response. Still, this was a major studio holding a press conference, so they had to cover it. Maybe they could get a new movie announcement out of this or something. “In order to properly address these concerns, we’ve brought on a mystery speaker to join us on the panel here today. We feel that his input is invaluable to explaining the situation at hand. If he would just come out on the stage please?” Well, that was his cue. Bendy took a deep breath and walked onto the stage. The crowd gasped as they saw Bendy the dancing demon alive and on stage in front of them, which then turned into a frantic roar with everyone shouting over each other. Some of the reporters were excited, this was the story of a lifetime right in front of them! While others were confused and some were scared. How was it possible that he was alive? What exactly was this living toon capable of? “Everyone quiet down. There will be a question and answer portion after we give our statements,” Joey said. They all quieted down after that. They wanted to know what these three men had to say, especially the cartoon demon. 

“Hello everyone,” Bendy started, voice shaking a bit. “I’m Bendy, head animator of Joey Drew Studios and star of the Bendy cartoons.” That just confused everyone even more. Since when was the little cartoon demon head animator? 

“How do we know that?” A skeptical reporter shouted. “How do we know that’s really Bendy and not a guy in a really good costume?” 

“Well, there are a few ways of proving it, Bendy?” Joey prompted. Bendy hesitated. Did he really want to do this? Wouldn’t it be a good thing if they thought he was a guy in a suit? Oh well, he had committed to this, it was too late to back out now. Besides, if they did go with the “guy in a suit” explanation the rumors would still fly. People were bound to catch on to the truth when his mouth moved when he talked and he was currently starting to melt under the stage lights. It was best if they came clean here and now. 

“Alright,” he said reluctantly. Now, what cartoony trick should he use to convince them he was real? His eyes lit up when he thought of something. Wordlessly he popped his head off his body (It wasn’t very hard, what with having no neck and all.) and rolled it down his arm. It settled on his finger and he spun it around like a basketball. He then rolled back down his arm and popped it back into place, a little dizzy from that display. The crowd was silent for a moment before that now familiar roar rose back up. 

“Did you see that?” 

“That thing can’t be human.”

“That’s Bendy! That’s really Bendy!”

“People! Please settle down! I know this is quite a bit of a shock but if you just calm down we can explain.” The crowd settled once more. Joey then went on to explain how he had used black magic to bring his creation to life, how said creation ended up becoming head animator and how the studio had been booming with him running it. Henry then chimed in with his own experiences with the little toon. Then it was Bendy’s turn to talk. 

“Look everyone. I know it’s a shock to see me here. It was a bit of a trip for me too, suddenly popping into existence like that. I know you probably won’t believe me if I go on about what a good guy I am, but I just want you to know that I don’t mean harm to anyone. I just want to make good quality cartoons for everyone to enjoy, and to be able to live and spend time with the people I love. I’m sure all of you can understand that,” Bendy said. It was a short speech, but an impassioned one. Bendy hoped that it would get through to some people. 

“So, we’re now opening the floor for questions,” Joey announced. Immediately every hand in the room went up. Joey called on a reporter in the front row. 

“This is Joanne Sighton from The New York Times. Are there any other living toons in the studio?” 

“Yes, Boris and Alice are alive too, but they declined to make an appearance today,” Joey answered. A murmur rose up from the crowd as they processed this new information. 

“Nick Castor, New York Post. Are any of these things dangerous?” Bendy bristled at being called a “thing.” Like, come on, he was right there. Did he think he couldn’t hear what he was saying? And he already said that he meant no harm.  _ But no, don’t take my word for it _ , he thought angrily. Joey and Henry looked a little offended at this too. 

“Of course not! Bendy, Boris, and Alice are no danger to anyone! They’re just people, just like you and me, they’re just a little different is all.” 

“A little different?! That’s a freaking cartoon demon Joey!” A reporter shouted, forgoing all formalities. “How do you know that he doesn’t have any demonic powers?” 

“He doesn’t!” “I don’t!” All three men protested.

“Come on! He just took his head off right in front of us!” That same reporter replied. 

“That’s a cartoon power. It has nothing to do with demons,” Bendy tried to explain, but it didn’t seem like anyone was listening at the moment. Man, he knew this was a bad idea. He was starting to melt again under all this scrutiny. Both Joey and Henry noticed this, not that they were surprised. With all this pressure it would be a miracle if he  _ didn’t _ start melting. 

“Come on people, this is Bendy! Does he look even a little dangerous to you?” Joey asked. The crowd silenced and started looking him over. Now that he mentioned it, no. He didn’t look dangerous at all. In fact, he looked a bit terrified. “You’ve seen the Bendy cartoons, he wouldn’t hurt a fly! Do you really think that he would appear here, at a press conference, if he intended to hurt you?” The crowd was silent after that. They had to admit, he had a point. The silence went on for a while until one lone reporter raised his hand. Joey pointed him out and allowed him to speak. 

“So, does that mean that he acts exactly the same as he does in the cartoons?” 

“Well, not exactly,” Joey admitted. “He has the same kindness and mischievous nature as the cartoon, but he has his own thoughts and personality quirks that we didn’t create. I mean, who knew that he could draw?” Bendy smiled a bit at this response, remembering how surprised the others were at his animation know-how when he was first created. Of course, it coming from his, frankly kinda scary, off model form probably accounted for some of the shock.

“So, why did you bring Bendy to life in the first place?” A reporter asked. Bendy’s curiosity was piqued as he wanted to know the answer too. He suspected that the real answer was “because he felt like it”, but he wanted to know what Joey was going to say. 

“I thought he could reach more people this way than he could as drawings on a page.” 

“By keeping him locked up in the studio?” A reporter questioned. Well, he wasn’t being locked up, he could leave the studio whenever he wanted as long as he wore one of his disguises. He would even make public appearances in said disguises. But he got what the reporter was trying to say. 

“Oh, he reaches plenty of people in the studio,” Joey said. “As head animator all of his passion goes into every frame of the cartoons, and you can see that when you watch them. He reaches people through his art every day. We wouldn’t be where we are today without him.”  _ Awww,  _ Bendy thought. He had to admit, that was very sweet. He knew Joey had a gift for giving speeches, but hopefully he meant at least some of that. 

“So, Bendy…” Bendy snapped out of his train of thought. This was the first time a reporter addressed him directly. “What was it like being brought to life?” 

“Well it was definitely a surprise,” Bendy said, getting a few chuckles out of the audience. “One minute I was in my cartoon world and the next I was here, standing in a summoning circle, dripping with ink, while this crazy person,” he said, pointing to Joey “was cheering about how his ritual worked.”

“Was it hard to adjust to the real world?”

“A little bit at first,” Bendy admitted. Honestly the hardest part was getting used to his giant, off-model body, but he wasn’t going to mention that part. That form scared people and that was the last thing he wanted to do here. “But I got used to it eventually. I did have some help,” he said, gesturing to Joey and Henry. “And it’s not like I haven’t gotten into some strange situations in my cartoons. I’ve kinda learned to just roll with things like this.” After that the questions to Joey and Henry tapered off and most of the questions were directed towards Bendy. That was a good sign, hopefully that meant that they were warming up to him, or at least acknowledging him as a person with his own opinions. Still, due to the initial outcry when Bendy was first shown, the trio weren’t entirely sure how well this press conference went. Some publications would probably be more positive than others. Either way, everyone was going to know about Bendy’s existence by tomorrow. Nothing would be the same again. Bendy was just about to head out right after the press conference when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. 

“Hey Bendy.” He heard someone say. He turned around and saw a man he didn’t recognize, probably one of the reporters. “I just wanted to tell you that I love your cartoons, I have ever since I was a kid. So it’s a real treat to meet you in person.” 

“Oh!” Bendy said, a tad shocked. After everyone had grilled him so hard at the press conference he was surprised to actually hear praise. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” the reporter replied. “I was actually going to thank you. I don’t know which cartoons you helped make and which ones you were actually in, but either way, they’re great work. And you being alive is just…..well, it’s just incredible.” 

“I’m glad you think so,” Bendy said. “I know not everyone does.” 

“Well, people are often afraid of new things, but they’re wrong,” the reporter told him. “It’s really nice to have met you Bendy,” he said, reaching out for a handshake. Bendy reached out his own hand and reciprocated it. 

“Likewise,” he said, a small smile on his lips. At least there were some people out there who thought that he was cool. At least he knew some people were on his side. Maybe today wasn’t all bad. 


End file.
